The present invention relates to mobile backhaul (MBH) topology and, more particularly, to MBH transmission topology planning and/or optimization.
Due to the massive proliferation of smart mobile devices, the mobile backhaul (MBH) and access networks of many leading global operators are evolving on a rapid, almost day-to-day basis. Due to the heterogeneity of MBH technologies (e.g. point-to-point microwave, copper, optical fiber), topologies within a given technology (e.g. line-of-sight versus non-line-of-sight wireless; free-space optical; point-to-point versus passive optical network (PON) fiber; etc.), and very different operator-specific legacy network investments and architectures, the optimization and future-proofing of the emerging high-speed MBH network emerges as a very difficult problem. We attempt to solve this problem by translating it into a malleable data rate optimization problem that incorporates physical layer parameters and can be solved in a software-defined way on a per-case, per-operator basis, and can thus act as both an a priori network planning tool, as well as a posteriori network upgrade/optimization tool.
Previous studies have considered optimal wireless access base station site placement in networks with randomly distributed mobile users [1-3], assuming that the wireless access points are either not connected or are a priori interconnected with a backhaul infrastructure. However, the optimization of the backhaul infrastructure itself was not considered; it was simply taken to be either present a priori, or absent altogether. In [4], a highly theoretical study arguing for a posteriori backhaul infrastructure optimization was presented (i.e. building a backhaul infrastructure after learning mobile user traffic patterns and distribution), but such an optimization was not performed, and the theoretical study was moreover not related to concrete physical-layer parameters. In most recent studies [5], physical-layer parameters have likewise not been explicitly taken into account.